“Better is little with the fear of the LORD than great treasure and trouble therewith.” —Proverbs 15:16

A missionary in India rode to Nallamaram and saw some people of the congregation gathered around their teacher. The clothes of one particular woman were dirty and ragged.

After class, the missionary spoke to this woman. “Do you not have better clothes?” he asked with concern.

“Sir,” replied the woman, “I am very poor, and have only this one dress.”

“Have you always been so poor?”

“No, I once had money and jewels, but about a year ago thieves came and robbed me of everything I had. They told me, ‘If you will return to the religion of our fathers, we will return your belongings to you.’”

“Why did you not do as they said?” inquired the missionary with interest. “Now you are so terribly poor!”

The woman’s eyes filled with tears. “Oh, sir!” she exclaimed, “I would rather be a poor Christian than a rich heathen! Now I can say, ‘The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord’ (Job 1:21b).”

Adapted from Instructive Anecdotes Illustrative of the Old and New Testaments by John Whitecross. (Glasgow: Thomas D. Morison;London: Simpkin, Marshall, Hamilton, Kent & Co.), nd.